First foray into s&s

edinburgher · 1 February 2015 at 11:37AM

Are the fees they quote inclusive of the provider fee? So one can compare directly between providers and platforms?

If they are being held directly by the provider (say L&G offering a L&G product), probably. Otherwise, no, you need to do your own comparisons. You'll usually have to pay a platform fee to the provider and fees specific to the fund(s) that you've chosen. There may also be dealing charges for buying funds, but it's unusual.

dunstonh · 1 February 2015 at 12:57PM

L&G multi-index funds may be a cheaper option than the Vanguard. Plus, they are more diverse and have a small element of management in there to allow them to be more reactive than the vanguard.

masonic · 1 February 2015 at 1:12PM

It's probably worth mentioning that you wouldn't practically be able to hold the Vanguard funds direct as they require a minimum holding of £100k per fund and you could not hold within an ISA.

Lomcevak · 1 February 2015 at 1:57PM

Totton wrote: »

Hi,
HL are not the cheapest but charges are reasonable at the lower level of investments. The benefit of using any platform is one of being able to switch holdings easily and hold investments from more than one company in a single place.

I use HL myself due to their excellent customer service and website but that's not to say others don't also do well in that area.

I have the L&G multi-index with Fidelity, which has a slightly lower platform fee than HL (0.35% vs. 0.45%). However, i'd agree that HL might be worth the extra for small amounts where the higher percentage fee doesn't make a major difference - the Fidelity website is a bit odd IMO, although the customer service has been fine when i've needed to actually phone them.

Some of the other low-cost providers might be cheaper still, although i've not looked.

collingbone614 · 1 February 2015 at 3:33PM

I've had a look on the HL site and it doesn't appear that the L&G Multi-Index range is offered.

Happytravelling · 1 February 2015 at 3:36PM

I've had my first foray into stocks and shares this week, having read what feels like my weight in writing (or would be, if it was printed!)

I'm 30 years from retirement and only looking at small sums yet, so with your lump sum, you might want to see a financial adviser...

However, I found Vanguard's website helpful in explaining things like different asset classes and how fees impact on your investment- simple and concise.

I plumped for TD direct's S&S ISA, which has a 0.3% platform fee (plus an annual fee if you hold less than £5,100). I didn't comb through every provider but they seemed to be reasonable compared to others I'd seen.

They also have a fund selector tool, which if nothing else, helps you get your head around the various dimensions- what region to invest, asset class, risk level, etc- at least it did for me.

enthusiasticsaver · 1 February 2015 at 3:43PM

Wentthedaywell? wrote: »

Thank you everybody, I very much appreciate your comments and can see now that 100% equities isn't a great idea.

Enthusiastic - I do have about £60k in cash (ISAs mostly) and another £70k due when i retire in 3-4 years, plus saving £1k a month till then. I need to find a home for it as ISA rates are so poor and I've got too much for high paying current accounts. I think our situations are similar - at least our ages are. May I ask why you decided on Vanguard please?

I'm not looking to making loads, but want to keep my savings well ahead of inflation as this will be my pot for big capital purchases for the rest of my life (I'm not concerned about leaving an inheritance to anyone and my house is mortgage-free).

So, if I look for something like the Vanguard or the L&G should I have it in a ISA wrapper? If so, how would people suggest I do this - direct from the companies themselves or through a supermarket?

Thanks again everybody, any more comments gratefully taken on board!

Yes we are in similar situations and we have around 90k in current accounts and fixed term cash isas and recently started investing £1k per month into the VG LS 60. I went for that after reading a lot about diversification and liked the way that is spread globally and a mix in bonds and equities. I have a fixed term cash isa maturing this year and will also be investing that lump sum in the stock market split 50/50 between VG LS60 and the L and G multi index fund (3 or 4). I invest through Cavendish online which is one of the cheaper platforms although I do use the HL app to research the funds. HL don't do the L and G multi index funds so this is one of the reasons I went with Cavendish as I do not want to use more than one platform to invest in different funds. If you intend only sticking with one fund I daresay you could go to the company direct.

At the moment I am investing outside an isa wrapper as used my 2014/15 isa allowance opening a Coventry BS fixed term cash isa but will be moving it into an ISA in April once my new allowance kicks in.

There is a lot to get to grips with but you are in the right place

ColdIron · 1 February 2015 at 3:53PM

omnirife wrote: »

I've had a look on the HL site and it doesn't appear that the L&G Multi-Index range is offered.

No HL don't have it but Charles Stanley Direct do and they are lot cheaper than HL

enthusiasticsaver · 1 February 2015 at 3:53PM

Wentthedaywell? wrote: »

I'm sorry if I'm asking really daft questions - still trying to get my head around this. If I buy, say a L&G or Vanguard product through e.g. HL, am I paying two lots of fees, or have HL negotiated a cheaper fee from L&G?

Is it only worth using someone like HL if I were going to be doing a lot of share dealing, moving money around etc? If I am going to leave my money in one product, maybe drip feeding or adding lump sums, should I just go direct to the providing company?

I am not sure what the HL charges are, Cavendish (via Fidelity network) charges a 0.05% on each transaction and a 0.25% platform charge. As someone else pointed out you would need an investment platform to invest in Vanguard funds. I think the L and G funds are slightly cheaper. I have been surprised how easy it has been tbh. I have been doing a regular monthly payment and then topping it up through the month with lump sums of £250 and they appear on my portfolio about 3 days after dealing.

I would prefer to use a platform rather than the company direct in case I decide to change funds although my intention is not to deal constantly. As I knew I was putting in a large lump sum in May 2015 and I am keen not to invest in just one fund (don't like all my eggs in one basket) I thought the platform route was better.

Temrael · 2 February 2015 at 1:58PM

I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong (I'm still researching and have yet to even commit to a platform) but from what I've read so far TD Direct seem to charge no fees at all for Fund transactions. So if you went that route you would only be paying the Fund's management fee and the 0.30% Fund holding fee (I believe).

First foray into s&s

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